There are several trends that support value of the invention described.
First, the number of people who use mobile phones and tablets that allow playing of casual games is increasing at a rapid pace globally. Mobile application downloads are projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 41% globally over the next five years with games representing approximately 75% of downloads. The estimated number of gamers who play casual games at least once a day is increasing rapidly towards hundred million in US alone by 2014.
Second, gamers who play casual games currently spend time with skill and effort in earning points but all those points expire when they exit from the game. The present invention enables casual gamers to gain monetary benefits from the points they earned from casual games, which are currently worthless.
Third, we are witnessing a trend of ‘gamification’ of life. Gamification refers to an engagement technique that is based on the successful mechanics used to makes game popular to be applied to day-to-day chores such as shopping, completing surveys, or reading web site (Wikipedia). Despite the early successes in the gamification techniques to promote advertising and marketing, the power of gamification has not been applied to promote the social engagement of the casual game playing experience itself, which has been predominantly focused on single casual game playing experience. This invention fills that gap by developing novel social engagement techniques that allow a gamer to compete with his/her friends who play different casual games to increase the playing time of casual games, increase loyalty to the game, and promote behavior that supports the exchange of game points into the redemption of rewards and promotions by brands and location based service providers (LBS).
Fourth, the games that are being downloaded are increasingly free games and game developers are looking for ways of monetizing the games. This trend towards high quality, free to-play games is quite compelling. Typical monetization opportunities for game developers include pop-up advertising banners while playing a game, which tend to intrude into the game experience itself. The present invention enables gamers to have uninterrupted game experience while providing innovative avenues for game developers such as using the interstitial screens between the levels of a game play to promote social engagement that can result in realizing additional revenue, several orders more than the current monetization opportunities.
Fifth, the popularity of social networking based online coupons is increasing and the present invention extends those practices with a specific focus on making offer redemptions more social.
Sixth, gamers have psychological barriers in viewing advertising banners during the action of playing a game. This negative attitude has made the utilization of coupons very low, discouraging brands to depend on coupons to generate additional revenue in action settings such as playing casual games, despite the increase in the number of people with desirable demographics who are playing those casual games. The present invention provides a novel approach for gamers to develop positive attitude towards the coupons by engaging them in the behavior of collecting coupons that they value, as they were acquired by using their hard earned in-game points and achievements.
Seventh, the typical demographic profile of casual gamer is a female in the age range of 35 to 45. This group also has the predisposition where the availability of coupon favorably influences them in their purchase decisions. However, a gamer has to leave the game playing session to explore coupon sites to locate coupons that are useful for their intended purchases. The present invention provides an easy experience to active coupon seekers to keep collecting relevant coupons with minimal interruptions to their casual game playing experience. In addition, the present invention draws in passive coupon seekers to acquire the habit of collecting coupons that might help them monetarily in their purchases, thereby deliver a channel of net new valuable consumers to brands for distributing their coupons.
Moreover, consumers are increasingly spending more time in games and virtual environments. The present invention provides a friendly linkage of the achievements in the virtual world to the monetary benefits in the real world, thereby making their virtual experience more rewarding and reinforces the behavior of spending more time in virtual world. Moreover, consumers are increasingly using GPS enabled mobile phones. The present invention enables brands and LBS to deliver time, context, and location aware offerings to the gamers. In doing so, the present invention also benefits brands and LBS to increase the likelihood of revenues from the offers they distribute.